The NHL Playoffs are upon us and many of the first round match-ups will be tightly contested. This BettingTop10 article will explore the best betting opportunities for this Sunday’s NHL action, as six teams begin their quest for the Stanley Cup. Find out why an underdog ML parlay is the best bet.
Riding Underdogs – NHL Sunday’s Best Bets New York Islanders ML +107 (Sports Interaction) The New York Islanders went to the Eastern Conference Finals last season and have the pedigree to repeat this performance or better it. Barry Trotz led the Washington Capitals to a Stanley Cup and then parted ways with the team, Trotz immediately landed in Long Island and in a perfect situation. The Islanders bench boss’ coaching style fits the playoffs perfectly as they slow down their opponents pace, forcing the opponent into a tight checking game. This type of hockey favours the Islanders who play much better defense than the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Islanders are allowing a mere 2.28 goals against per game, while Pittsburgh is allowing 2.78 goals per game. Semyon Varlamov is having a career-best season with a .929 save percentage, and Pittsburgh netminder Tristan Jarry is not good enough of a goalie to slow down the Islanders top scorers. While the Penguins are 6-2 against the Islanders this season, they were swept by the Isles in the 2019 playoffs and were stunned by the Canadiens in last year’s play-in round. This line is razor tight and I love the Islanders at plus money. Florida Panthers ML +105 (Betway) The Florida Panthers enter their first round match-up with momentum on their side. The Panthers secured home-ice by taking the Lightning to task in their final two regular-season games. While I expect this to be the tightest series of the first round, I love getting the home team at plus money. This is Florida’s first playoff series since 2016 and they will be searching for their first playoff series win since 1996. This may be the best team Florida has ever constructed and they will give the defending Cup Champs all they can handle. Joel Quenneville has moulded this team into a fine product after only two seasons behind the bench. Jonathan Huberdeau continues to lead the way, but Sasha Barkov has taken huge steps forward offensively and the Cats are now complemented by a plethora of secondary scoring. The Cats are averaging 3.57 goals per game over their last 23 games and are 17-5-1 over this same stretch. The Lightning have faded meanwhile going 12-10-1 over their last 23 games only scoring 2.65 goals per game. With Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos all being banged up, I am not sure the Lightning will be able to handle a rough and tumble opener with these frisky Panthers. ML Parlay +320 (Bodog) –> $100.00 returns $420.00 BettingTop10/Canada/ is the home of detailed and thorough analysis and reviews of the best betting sites in Canada. Be sure to also check out our NHL Betting Guide, Betting Promotions Guide and Betting apps Guide for free tips & recommended betting sites to help you make better betting decisions.
